M&T, WSFS and PNC are locked in a battle for the largest market share among full-service banks in Delaware.
Calculations based on information from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. show M&T with a nearly 23 percent market share.
The Buffalo-based bank held on to the lead that had long been maintained by its predecessor Wilmington Trust. M&T acquired Wilmington Trust, after the Delaware bank and trust company fell victim to bad loans. M&T has retained the Wilmington Trust name for trust operations
However, WSFS is making a run for the top spot with a 21.4 percent chunk of the banking market. WSFS has grown by acquiring deposits and operations from Christiana Bank and Trust, First National Bank of Wyoming, and Sun National Bank. It has also reported “organic” growth from overall operations as it worked to build a “service culture” with input from Disney and other organizations.
| Bank | Assets | Estimated market share | No. of offices |
| M&T | $4,521,401,000 | 22.84% | 42 |
| WSFS | $4,233,555,000 | 21.38% | 39 |
| PNC | $4,142,691,000 | 20.92% | 42 |
| Wells Fargo | $2,190,710,000 | 11.06% | 19 |
| Bank of America | $1,311,659,618 | 6.62% | 9 |
| Citizens Bank | $1,140,917,000 | 5.76% | 24 |
| Fulton Bank | $608,921,000 | 3.08% | 11 |
| Artisans’ Bank | $472,919,000 | 2.39% | 13 |
| County Bank | $308,653,000 | 1.56% | 7 |
| Midcoast Community | $195,421,000 | 0.99% | 3 |
| Bank of Delmarva | $165,516,000 | 0.84% | 4 |
| Community Bank | $138,864,000 | 0.70% | 2 |
| Applied Bank | $131,759,000 | 0.67% | 2 |
| Shore United | $99,519,000 | 0.50% | 4 |
| Bryn Mawr Trust | $88,435,000 | 0.45% | 1 |
| Calvin B. Taylor Bank | $31,200,000 | 0.16% | 1 |
WSFS is slated to make its biggest acquisition ever, with a deal to buy Beneficial Bancorp. However the merger will not boost its Delaware market share, since the Philadelphia-based bank does not have offices in Delaware.
With the growth of WSFS, PNC, for many years the second largest full-service bank in Delaware, has moved into the third spot with a 21 percent share.
In fourth is Wells Fargo, which has the biggest chunk of the market in the Delaware Valley, but has not done the same in Delaware.
The market share figures are based on deposits at full-service commercial banks in the state with assets of more than $30 million. Trust, special purpose and credit card banks were not included.
TD Bank is not on the list since deposits from its various entities were included along with other assets. Based on the number of bank branches, TD would be among the nine largest full-service banks in the state.
